The Moonflower's Child
by AResidentGhost
Summary: A different explanation for Erik's ugliness with a fantastical twist. Will be long, starts from birth through to death. Erik, the promised child of Faerie. Leroux and Kay undertones. Modern, AU.
1. Chapter 1: The Birth

The stars, all the remaining mystics agreed, were foretelling a momentous event. This was to be a birth—an event that is unusual in that so few had survived their race's decimation, and so many that did were rendered sterile. Unknowingly, because of the disguises often assumed by the survivors, some hybrids were born. Some looked entirely human, others did not survive very long after birth, and yet others that did survive were whisked away immediately by the highly secret networks of the surviving native race, to be raised away from prying eyes of humankind. These that they whisked away usually did not look or appear human and were taught the sophisticated art of mimicry, taught about human society, and "released" back to the human world. This birth, however, would be different in many ways. The child would have no "alien" blood—in other words, no human parentage; it would also be very powerful, immune to disease and iron, and would be like the child was treated with their vanished immortality technology. They, though, had no idea if the child would live, where he or she would be born, or the sex of the child. All the signs and the stars pointed towards the child being born in France and would be male. The strange thing, they said, was that the child would not be born from the Blood, but of purely human parents. It is said that he would come to be a great leader…despite some serious setbacks.

The scouts, disguised and otherwise hidden within plain sight, had been watching the young couple for the last nine months, eagerly awaiting the arrival of their promised leader. It started with a piece of fruit—but not just any fruit. The fruit was an exotic, straight from the heart of Faerie, a gift from Queen Mab herself. The fruit, disguised as a luscious strawberry, was given as a gift to the young wife and unknown to the woman, contained the soul of the promised child, for the fruit was of celestial origin, from the mythical tree of life.

It was very hot the day Alena's body chose to give birth. The news rippled and spread through the community like wildfire. The midwife, a Halfling who naturally appears human, was there to deliver the child, this time disguised as a nurse at the hospital. After many screams and sobs of pain, words of support and encouragement, and the help of the doctor, the child, a boy, was born. He appeared normal, covered with blood and afterbirth, but even then they could tell something was off about him. Silent instead of a normal newborn wailing, it was apparent still that he was breathing. The doctor hands the babe to the Halfling midwife, who quickly set to work cleaning the child, noticed he was extremely pale, even pallid, with a slight yellowish tint to his skin that is otherwise so translucent one could see the veins. As she reached the face, she was horrified—she had heard of this ghoulish type of fey, through the gossip lines, of course, but had hoped and never thought she would meet one. _So this is the promised child,_ she thinks to herself.

"The child's name—what will you call him?" She managed to ask before fainting.

"Erik. Erik Luna."


	2. Chapter 2: First Two Years

"My child—is he dead?" Asks the new mother.

"Unfortunately, no. He lives and breathes like a normal child," answers the doctor.

"Why, then, does he not cry? And why is it unfortunate that he still lives? Bring him to me—bring me my child! I must see him!"

The doctor hands the baby named Erik to his mother. Either a carefully placed glamour, which is doubtful, or pure and blind maternal love for the child blinded her to his looks, because she did not scream or faint at the sight of his "dead" face. The child has very little hair on his head and his skin is so pale and translucent that it resembles blue-veined marble of the finest quality. The porcelain-like skin is thin and stretched taut across the bones of his body, making him appear as if he is dead or starving and near death. His eyes appear to be two black holes with a golden fire that seems to burn in the darkness, while in the light they are a deep black—what the old believers would call _fey eyes._ And where his nose should is just a great black hole. His ears appear to be slightly pointed, but not in a demonic way.

The only gifts given to him upon birth by the Halfling nurse was boon of good luck for the babe, the blessing of the Sight, and an intricate circlet of gold and precious stones enchanted to grow along with the child to act as a binder to reality, life, and magic within the human realm.

In due time, the doctors allowed Alena to take little Erik home with her, although they were still worried about how thin he was. Yet no matter how much he was fed by the doctors, he gained very little, if any fat, although he did put on weight. In the next months, he grew rapidly—but not too rapidly—and quickly developed his own personality and reached development goals before their regular time, mostly.

Alena's husband had been away when she gave birth and was in the hospital, but quickly made plans to cut his business trip overseas as short as possible so he could see his new child. Alena was just glad to not have to carry her child in her belly any longer, as it was putting some serious strain on her back during the last months of her pregnancy. She was also slightly glad that he was not here to see little Erik, for she feared how he would react to seeing his deformities. Although she loved her son very much, she was not sure he would receive the same reaction from his father. And she was right. Although he did his best to hide his loathing of Erik from his wife, he would not allow her to take him out in public without some sort of protection, like a mask or a closed baby carriage. He, Andre Edelman, was very vain and quite particular about his reputation and his social status, always looking to improve his standing, and because of this, he only considered his son, Erik Luna Edelman, to be a nuisance and detraction from his social status if news of what he looked like ever became public.

_Two years later…_

Erik is an amazing child. When still bottle-fed, which was after breast-feeding was done, he was rarely fussy and didn't always wake up and cry at night like most children. He was for the most part quiet, always watching and observing, at least until he felt he had a good grasp of the language, which he then had a million questions to ask about the things around him in his childish innocence and child-like grasp of the language and abstract ideas. Alena could tell already that there lay an immense mind and intelligence behind his child-like façade, and she wanted to nourish it already. His intelligence appeared to have already outgrown that of his peers and what would be usual for a child of his age, far beyond those years he has spent here on Earth. He did everything he could to please his parents, for early on he picked up on the revulsion felt by his father; avoided trouble when his father was around—however, trouble seemed to always follow him wherever he went and whatever he did; and generally did not get into much, if any, mischief—that he was caught at, anyways. However, no lock, door, or window can hold him in if and when he puts his mid to it—this is just one of the many strange talents he has developed and discovered as he has grown from a child.

But despite this supposedly idyllic setting, trouble is brewing. His father, having been so careful about the immense secret of his son, has been hearing odd rumors of an odd child seen in his neighborhood. At first he dismissed them, but when the rumors refused to go away, and some grew so bold as to ask if he himself had seen this mysterious child who appeared to be homeless because of how thin he is, he started to get suspicious and even angry. He would have a word with his wife over their son. He had long ago wanted to send his son off to a plastic surgeon, who was a pediatric specialist, but his wife had refused, seeing nothing wrong with the way God had created him. She had told him outright that if that is how the good Lord deemed him to look like, He must have had a reason behind it, and therefore she refused to have him changed or love him any less than a handsome child. He was her first child, and so he would therefore always be special in her eyes, even if the rest of the world did not see him the same way as she did.

She does not know, however, exactly _how_ special he really is, though. She never has suspected his fey blood, nor considered the facts that would seem abnormal to any other observer without close contact or interaction. Often he would be seen staring into space or talking to no one in particular. If asked, he would say he was talking to the _natcha_, as he called them. When asked what that meant, he always said "The First Peoples" or sometimes "the little people". He could also see perfectly well in the dark, quite like a cat, never running into any obstacle at night, and his voice can be that of an angel or a devil, depending on his mood. One thing they did not know, and therefore could not ascribe some of what he claims to see as true, is that little Erik can see behind the so-called "Veil" and into realms and worlds beyond any regular human eyes and sight.


	3. Chapter 3: 2nd Birthday

It is Erik's second birthday today, and his mother wants to give him a grand birthday party with a cake and many presents, something she has always wanted to do for any children she might have. His father is not happy about the attention she lavishes upon the "monster" that is his son, as he insists on calling and treating Erik. Alena is excited for another reason—she is once again pregnant and cannot wait to tell her husband the good news. The child growing in her womb is surely human, a true product of their union, unlike little Erik, who was created and given life not purely of their sexual desires, but more through the fruit gift from Faerie that she consumed. Neither Erik nor his parents know this, however, and the fact that their first child looks like he does makes them worry about their second child.

"What would you like for your birthday, Erik?" Alena asks happily.

"Balloons! Balloons, momma! Big, shiny balloons," he giggles in his surprisingly advanced toddler speech. His cat-like eyes glow golden in the low light from his excitement. "And a pony, and a bunny! … Or a friend…"

"Why? Doesn't anyone like to even just talk to you? Or don't you ever start talking to others first, then? If you don't, people will think you are too shy and therefore no fun to play with," his mother inquires. The woman is pretty and has a big heart, but sometimes you have to wonder about her intelligence because she just doesn't _know_. The reason, it could be said, for little Erik to have no friends, besides his father that hates him, is the fact that his very looks and countenance make him an absolute outcast in today's society. In a world where plastic surgery and medical science can come together to make even an ugly person beautiful, there is no hope for little Erik. His deformity is just too severe and there is little to work with. Another reason, although one not mentioned very often, is that, for some reason, the equipment tends not to work regularly around him.

Erik looks around as if shamed by the fact that he wants to tell his mother something, much less that he is alive still. After making sure the coast is clear, so to speak, he speaks, "No, Momma, I am not shy. Papa tells me I am a 'monster'; and therefore should never attempt to talk to, play with, or be friends with anyone outside. He…he said he'd…said he'd punish me the worst ever…if he ever caught me outside of the backyard…"

Tears have formed in the hollow pits that are the little boy's eyes and Alena, being the blonde that she is has no clue as to why others would not like her son, reaches out and quietly wipes the silent tears away. "Hush now, my little one, there's no need to cry," she soothes. "I'll always be there for you, remember that. Besides, it's your birthday! You should have fun!"

* * *

Alena had invited all of little Erik's relatives, and amazingly, an overwhelming majority actually showed up. She did not want to force her son to have to wear a mask, being the New Age-sort of person that she is, she believes it could only be detrimental to his persona, especially around his extended family, but Andre, who is little Erik's father, threatened to either call it off altogether, saying that his son had come down with a fever or he'd lock him in his room and hire a neighbor or homeless kid to play little Erik if his wife did not cooperate. He was, as usual, afraid of harming his reputation with what the child he fathered looks like.

Erik wanted to object, as the mask was starting to rub his skin raw because he was growing quickly, and therefore he was quickly outgrowing the mask and his clothing, but he had heard his father arguing with his mother, including the threats that he made towards little Erik, thought twice about voicing his opinions about the mask, even though it hurt him to wear it for very long.

He received many well-wishes, books—they were told by his mother of his incredible genius, development, and eagerness to learn—that were almost teen reading levels, some toys—which Erik pretty much ignored for the most part, and all manner of clothes which he no doubt will quickly outgrow at the rate he is growing.

That night, Erik went to bed happy. He was glad that no one shied away from him or yelled at him. Already in his childlike mind he views the world as incredibly hostile to his persona, but this day has vastly improved his outlook on life because of the acceptance he was granted at his birthday party even though most of the acceptance was falsely given under threat of lawsuit for slander by his father for not keeping Erik's appearance a secret, Erik still felt like life was not all that bad. After all, he was _loved_, spoken to, and _accepted_ by what, to him, are complete and total strangers—the outside world.


End file.
